Being a smoker

At Riverfront Plaza, they congregate under a canopy between the East and West towers.  Like the erstwhile Postal Service motto "neither ran, nor sleet, nor snow..." they still stroll into the elements and huddle under the canopy to light up a cigarette.  The arrive in pairs, sometimes solo.  They are lawyers, secretaries, stock brokers, accountants, technicians, etc. 

There is one gentleman, who I believe to be a stockbroker, who takes a smoke under the canopy, comes into the gym, takes off his suit coat, exercises in his shirt and tie on a few weight machines, and then goes back out for another smoke.  To date, that has been the most bizzare behavior I have witnessed.

The addiction to nicotine must be very strong.  I have heard of individuals, suffering of emphyzema and using oxygen machines, unhooking from the machine long enough to smoke a cigarette.  I recall once attending my uncles funeral in Boston in early December.  Having been a life long smoker, he had passed away due to lung cancer.  After the funeral, I noticed my uncle's two children outside smoking cigarettes while shivering in the mid-20's temperature. 

Having observed smokers for years and witnessed their behavior, I have concluded that it is all about the addiction to nicotine.  It can't be for the rancid smell that lingers on their clothes or the hacking in between puffs.  One day I was in Food Lion behind a gentleman who spent $70 on two cartons of cigarettes.  Not being a smoker myself, I did not realize how expensive cigarettes have gotten.

Despite the well-documented links to various cancers and heart disesase, yet many still smoke.  As some of these smokers are now into their 50's and 60's, I often wonder if anyone of them will fall victim to one of the dreaded diseases that smoking causes.  I do not wish this upon them though I don't feel comfortable lecturing to them about their unhealthy habit.  I would feel judgmental.  However, I often wonder whether I am just cowering by not encouraging them to stop by saying something to the effect of "I really care for you and want to see you live well into retirement.  Please stop smoking".  When I saw a colleague, who I really admire and did not know had this habit, smoking one day, I almost uttered such words to them only to walk by.  Maybe one day, I will summon the courage to be more bold, not in a judgemental way but out of concern.

I suspect that most humans have some form of addiction or another.   Perhaps like most smokers, we don't think that we will fall prey to the side effects or consequences of our addictions whether they be mild or sever.